Apple cider vinegar is a popular remedy for toenail fungus due to its antifungal properties. If you want to treat your fungus using ACV, you can soak your feet in a mixture of warm water and the vinegar for about 15 minutes, twice a day.
The best type of vinegar to treat toenail fungus is apple cider vinegar, a very acidic and strong solution that destroys toenail fungus at the source. To take full advantage of this, mix one cup of apple cider vinegar with at least 2 cups of water – this will dilute the vinegar so that it won't burn your skin.
Soak your feet for 10 to 15 minutes daily in a vinegar bath until the infection subsides. You can increase the length of time in the soak gradually. It may take two to three weeks or longer to see improvement in symptoms. Improved symptoms indicate that you've treated the fungal infection long enough.
Add about one cup of vinegar to each gallon of water and soak your feet for 15 minutes per day until the symptoms improve. Toenail fungus can be improved (although rarely cured) with this technique too, although you need to increase the concentration: one part vinegar to two parts water.
To use, mix apple cider vinegar in warm water and soak nails for at least 10 minutes a day for best results. Apple cider vinegar also has anti-bacterial properties and like coconut oil can be used to treat fungus and infections caused by cracked nails or hanging cuticles.
It Strengthens Your Nails
Consuming a glass of water mixed with a tablespoon of raw organic apple cider vinegar can improve the strength of your nails. Other than date, you can also just soak it in the same solution everyday for 3 minutes and even you cuticles will grow healthily.
Dr. Ioli, who is chief of the podiatry service at Harvard-affiliated Brigham and Women's Hospital, suggested that daily applications of Vicks VapoRub might be at least as effective as most of the topical treatments for toenail fungus that are available by prescription or over the counter.
Oral antifungal drugs.
These drugs are often the first choice. One option is itraconazole (Sporanox). These drugs help a new nail grow free of infection, slowly replacing the infected part. You typically take this type of drug daily for 6 to 12 weeks.
The fastest way to eliminate the infection is through toenail laser treatment. Laser nail therapy specifically targets the microorganisms under your nail while leaving the keratin intact. In just a few treatments, the infection can be entirely eliminated.
“Applying Vicks VapoRub to fungus-infected toenails can clear up the notoriously hard-to-treat condition. Michigan State University clinicians found that applying the product daily to the infected nail cleared the condition in 32 of 85 patients, though it took anywhere from 5 to 16 months…”
Can You Use Substitute Apple Cider Vinegar for White Vinegar? Apple cider vinegar and white vinegar make good substitutes for one another in most cooking applications, but the former is significantly more tart. In many cases, you can also use these vinegars as substitutes for other types of vinegar.
Tea tree oil is a popular home remedy for many skin infections, including fungal infections. Dab a few drops of the oil onto your toenails twice a day, or mix a few drops of oil with some water and soak your entire foot. You can buy over-the-counter urea paste to dissolve the infected portion of the toenail.
A pharmacist can help with fungal nail infections
nail-softening cream – it's used for 2 weeks to soften the nail so the infected part can be scraped off.
Effective products include efinaconazole (Jublia), tavaborole (Kerydin) and ciclopirox (Penlac). All require daily applications, and it may take as long as a year to see noticeable improvement. These products may work for early, superficial fungal infections because they kill fungi on the surface of the nail.
A 1994 study found that tea tree oil applied directly to toenail fungus is as effective as clotrimazole cream. Clotrimazole is an antifungal cream available on prescription or from a pharmacy.
When used topically, tea tree oil is believed to be antibacterial. Tea tree oil is commonly used to treat acne, athlete's foot, lice, nail fungus and insect bites.
The nail will be corroded. Whether the nail will be visibly damaged will depend on the concentration of the vinegar and the specific alloy of the nail and whether the nail has a coating. Try it with a zinc plated outdoor use nail (old school roofing nails) and watch it bubble and give off hydrogen gas.
Distilled white vinegar is another option you can use to soften your nails. Vinegar relieves dry skin and disinfect while still softening cuticles. White vinegar is mildly acidic. Thus, you only need to soak your fingers in the solution for 5 minutes as opposed to 10 minutes in other soaks.
Mix a half-cup of baking soda, a half-cup of Epsom salt, and one-fourth cup of hydrogen peroxide (3%) in four cups of hot water before adding one-fourth cup of white vinegar. Soak for about ten minutes, and then wash with clean water and thoroughly dry your foot/feet.
Apple cider vinegar is a popular remedy for toenail fungus due to its antifungal properties. If you want to treat your fungus using ACV, you can soak your feet in a mixture of warm water and the vinegar for about 15 minutes, twice a day.
Soaking your feet and toes in a bath containing Epsom salts can help dry out fungal infections by killing fungal spores. Add 1–2 cups of Epsom salt to a footbath of warm water and soak for 30 minutes. Alternatively, you can add 2 tablespoons of Epsom salt to 2 cups of water and soak a cotton ball in it.